TITAN: Orion Rising
by Neo Hikato
Summary: In 2247, mankind left the confines of their system. Discovering a galaxy ripe with life, they spread out while meeting alien races and establishing relations. But when mankind and their new friends find a dark secret that threatens the galaxy, they have to change their ways and ensure that this cycle will be different for everyone. Ready yourselves, for it's time to make our mark.
1. Contact: New Discovery

**From this distance the planets seem only points of light, smeared or unsmeared - even through the high-resolution telescope aboard Voyager. They are like planets seen with the naked eye from the surface of the Earth – luminous dots, brighter than most of the stars. Over a period of months the Earth, like the other planets, would seem to move among the stars. You cannot tell merely by looking at one of these dots what it's like, what's on it, what its past has been, and whether, in this particular epoch anyone lives there.**

**Because of the reflection of sunlight off the spacecraft, the Earth seems to be sitting in a beam of light, as if there were some special significance to this small world. But it's just an accident of geometry and optics. The Sun emits its radiation equitably in all directions. Had the picture been taken a little earlier or a little later, there would have been no sunbeam highlighting the Earth.**

**And why that cerulean color? The blue comes partly from the sea, partly from the sky. While water in a glass is transparent, it absorbs slightly more red light than blue. If you have tens of meter of the stuff or more, the red light is absorbed out and what gets reflected back to space is mainly blue. In the same way, as short line of sight through air seems perfectly transparent. Nevertheless – something Leonardo da Vinci excelled at portraying – the more distant the object, the bluer it seems. Why? Because the air scatters blue light around much better than it does red. So the bluish cast of this dot comes from its thick but transparent atmosphere and its deep oceans of liquid water. And the white? The Earth on an average day is about half covered with white water clouds.**

_**We**_** can explain the wan blueness of this little world because we know it well. Whether an alien scientist newly arrived at the outskirts of our solar system could reliably deduce oceans and clouds and a thickish atmosphere is less certain. Neptue, for instance, is blue, but chiefly for different this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. **

**But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.**

**The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.**

**Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.**

**The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.**

**It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.**

**-Carl Sagan's "The Pale Blue Dot"**

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><p><strong>Act 1: Contact<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>February 13th, 2247<strong>

**Earth Orbit**

"Mission Control, this is Enterprise. We have left the orbital dry dock, and are preparing the final steps for FTL travel. We are awaiting the go, no go, over."

Zavier Lindon, a 43 year old Caucasian man with brown crew cut hair, waited for a response. Outside, he could see the blue marble that he and the entire human race called home. Earth; resting peacefully in the dark void known as space, isolated from the rest of the galaxy by light years of travel. And after years of development, advancements, and setbacks, he would be one of the first to break that isolation that many of his kind hoped to surpass.

Being an astronaut meant that you had to always be prepared for the task at hand, both physically and mentally. While that was true for anyone coming up here, for him, this was the eighth time he was in space. He long learned to get used to the weightless feeling, which slowly vanished as time and technology advanced. The understanding of magnetic fields and how they can affect gravitational pull made it safe for him, his crew, and countless other human beings to live in space for longer periods of time. But even though mankind established a colony on the moon and Mars, they still yearned to spread and explore.

"This is Mission Control," the ground team back on Earth replied, "All systems are green. You are clear for the warp jump. Good luck team, all of us at mission control are proud to be a part of this historic moment of the first mission to Alpha Centauri."

The mission had only two tasks: Jump to Alpha Centauri, and then jump back to Earth. Zavier's previous missions were similar in nature, except they involved jumping to a planet within the system. They started small by jumping to the moon, but with each mission they jumped to further planets. After a few years of calculations, eventually it was determined that they might finally be able to utilize the Prometheus warp drive to leave the system and enter a new one. It was a big jump, and there always were dangers associated with it, but the benefits outweighed the risks.

"Roger Mission Control, preparing to engage Prometheus drive" Zavier glanced to his right to one of the other astronauts in his crew, a 34 year old woman with long black hair and tan skin. Esther Valencia had been to space just as many times as he did, and the two developed a close bond. She was the team's engineer, and it was her job to keep the ship's systems operational. It also helped that she had a neuro interface, which allowed her to perform even more tasks thanks to her being able to interface with computers mentally. This meant that she would literally be one with the ship whenever she is linked in.

Esther returned the glance and gave Zavier a firm nod. "Right," She didn't even catch a beat before she sent out the command to fold up the solar arrays, "Bringing the solar array in for warp travel. Solar batteries are charged, and hydrogen fuel cells are full."

Zavier nodded, "Thank you. Youta?" He glanced behind him to a 48 year old man of Japanese heritage with short black hair. Youta Fujijoka was another member of Zavier's team for a while now, and like Esther, received his share of experience in space. He joined the crew back in 2241 during the Mars mission, and since then he was a valuable part of the team, besides his terrible sense of humor. While Esther was the team's engineer, Youta was the team's navigator. It was his job to ensure the ship remained on course to the correct destination, and to set the coordinates for warp travel.

"Warp coordinates have been set," Youta looked up from his computer display to Zavier, "Checked, double checked, and triple checked."

Zavier smiled, "Music to my ears." He glanced to the final member of the crew, a 33 year old man of African descent. Nthanda Afolayan was the recent member of the team, but proved to be skilled in piloting ships such as the Enterprise. Zavier patted Nthanda on the shoulder, "Alright Nthanda, takes us out of here."

Nthanda nodded, "Yes commander." He grasped his hands around the flight stick and took a deep breath, "This is it team. Time to make history."

"Or die trying." Youta laughed.

"That's not funny Youta." Esther sighed.

Zavier ignored the comment from his navigator, instead being focused on the mission, "Alright team. Time to say goodbye to our solar system."

Nthanda took another deep breath, "Auto-pilot initiated." He said as the ship's on-board computer automatically maneuvered the Enterprise into the right position for warp jump, "Warp jump in five…four…three…two…one…"

In a flash, the ship darted forward as the stars faded out due to the speed the Enterprise was going. Specks of space dust zoomed past the ship, almost similar to another form of FTL that was seen in a popular movie series. The crew remained in their seats as they waited to reach their destination. Seconds passed, minutes, and soon hours. They were prepared for this long trip, it was what they were trained form.

After 4 hours of transit, another flash of light appeared before the ship as the warp drive disengaged. The ship came to a halt as they arrived at their destination, the binary stars of Alpha Centauri in front of them. The computer systems made sure the ship would exit just outside of the binary star's rotation, to ensure that the Enterprise wouldn't crash into either of the two stars. It was a beautiful sight, and a great accomplishment.

"Well team, welcome to Alpha Centauri." Zavier grinned. They couldn't see it, but they knew that their solar system, their home, was just a mere dot of light light-years away. The blue world they called home was now invisible to the naked eye, but they knew it was there. And within that system, on that blue planet, millions waited for the word. Finally, they were here.

"Yatta!" Youta laughed, "I knew we'd make it!"

Nthanda glanched behind him to his Japanese friend and arched a brow, "Was that before or after you said that crude joke?" He asked, though he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Alright, let's hold off on the celebrations until we get back to Sol." Zavier reminded them, "We need to recharge our hydrogen supply and check the system out. Once that is done, we jump back to Sol."

Nthanda nodded turned his attention back to the console, "Heading to the star's corona now." He said as the Enterprise moved forward, "Do you want the big one or the small one?"

"Let's just use the one that's closest." Zavier shrugged. There wasn't really much difference, but the sooner they can get the hydrogen cells recharged, the better. Depending on how potent the hydrogen was, it could take a few seconds, minutes, hours, or even a few days. It didn't matter though; there was no time limit for them to get back home, just as long as they get back in one peace.

"Small star it is." Nthanda smiled, "You know…I never thought I'd be in another system. It seems…."

"Surreal?" Esther finished for him, "We all feel the same. But we're making history here, so it's normal to have that feeling."

The ship slowly drifted to the closest star, the scorching heat clawing at its hull. But the Enterprise would be safe. The crew monitored the ship's heat levels, getting the ship in the right position so the heat wouldn't fry the systems. Now close to the star's corona, in perfect position, a single compartment opened at the bottom, vacuuming and filtering all the hydrogen that the star expelled. The excess hydrogen the star produced would finally be useful.

Within 30 minutes, the ship's hydrogen supply was full. "Hydrogen fuel supply at maximum, bringing her out of the star's corona," Nthanda announced. The fuel scoop closed before Nthanda brought the ship away from the star, the Enterprise's temperature quickly dropping as he did.

"Good," Zavier patted Nthanda on the back, "Now that we are fueled up, it's time to explore this system fully." He looked to Esther, "Are the probes ready?"

"Hydrogen fuel is at full capacity for each probe. I marked out all potential planets, though I've been picking up something…odd." Esther replied.

Zavier arched a brow, "Odd?"

"I've been picking up a radio signal from within the system. It's faint, but I can pick up some of the audio…" Esther looked over the data through her neuro interface, "...it's nothing I can understand though."

Zavier thought for a moment. If there as a radio signal, then it could be many things: an alien civilization, some ship that was also exploring the system, or perhaps a lost probe. Though he doubted that they would find alien life this soon, the radio signal was something that should be investigated. He didn't want to compromise the Enterprise if it turned out to be something….bad, so they had to use the probes.

"Very well. Lock a probe on that radio signal's location and have it move in to its coordinates." Zavier ordered.

"Sir?" Youta asked as Esther sent the orders to the probe.

"That radio signal could be many things, and we've already seen too many science fiction movies to guess what it could possibly be." Zavier explained, "The best case scenario is that it's just some anomaly. The worst case is that is some alien ship, more so if they are hostile. If it's the latter, then we will have to act accordingly."

"Probes are away, captain." Esther announced, "They are set to search for possible planets within the system. I also got one probe set to investigate that signal."

"Good," Zavier leaned back in his chair, "Now, we wait."

Time would pass as the crew waited for the results to come back. The probes weren't made with FTL in mind, nor do they have a powerful cruise drive. They were made to be cheap while getting the job done. Thankfully it didn't take too long for them to get the results back. It would take at least two hours for the results to get back to the Enterprise.

"The results are back…" Esther reported, "…sir, you have to see this."

She displayed the results on the main view screen for the rest of the crew to see. Most of the planets were barren, incapable of hosting any life unless special habitats were developed. But one planet stood out. It was a gas giant much like Jupiter, and like Jupiter, it had its own moons. Though one moon was different than the others…

"Is that…what I think it is?" Nthanda asked in shock.

"It can't be…." Youta muttered.

"….it is." Zavier stated.

One of the moons was a terrestrial planet, much like Earth. Forests, mountains, even an ocean. Two smaller moons orbited the planet, the light from the sun hitting them just right. But what surprised the crew was a series of metal objects that hovered in low orbit around the planet; objects that were broadcasting the radio signal Esther discovered.

There was sapient life in this system…

* * *

><p><strong>PROMETHEUS WARP DRIVE<strong>

By the year 2033, mankind had a colony on the moon and Mars. While future Sol colonies were planned out, the bulk of the scientific community were discussing the possibility of a warp drive to close the gap between Earth and Mars. With the popularity of civilians going to Mars and the growing population of Earth, scientists concluded that a warp drive was the next step for humanity to survive. Since the tensions between the United States, Europe, Russia, and China were fading, it was a perfect time to work together to benefit mankind.

The most popular concept, and most plausible, was the Alcubierre Drive. With the confirmation that dark matter existed, and later, dark energy, scientists worked on a way to manipulate the dark energy to allow FTL travel. This required figuring out a way to manipulate the dark energy and to harness the power needed to perform the manipulation. We already had a power source in the form of nuclear fusion, though scientists needed to develop a way to shrink the fusion reactor to a size that could be used in ships.

It took many years for scientists to work on the FTL drive. During this time, the colonies grew and flourished. Colonies were established on Iapetus in 2094, and later on Titan in 2112. A mining colony was founded inside an asteroid that lied within the Sol's asteroid belt in 2148. And a floating city was made on Saturn in 2179. Meanwhile, ships continued to develop and evolve, becoming less cumbersome as the years progressed.

By 2238, a smaller nuclear fusion was developed to be used in ships, as well as a way to refuel the reactor by harvesting the hydrogen directly from a star's corona. Newer civilian shuttles were outfitted with the new fusion reactor and the fuel scoop, preventing the need to refueling stations in the system. This new nuclear fusion reactor paved the way for manipulating magnetic fields, which allowed ships to manipulate dark energy with the right magnetic field. In 2241, the first FTL enabled ship, the Enterprise, left the orbital docks.


	2. Contact: Outworld Traveller

AN: Well, I think we are off to a good start. Now, I know everyone is eager to get into the Mass Effect part of the story, but I won't rush through things. I want to develop the lore of mankind before their first contact with the Citadel, and flesh out the universe TITAN takes place in a bit more. Trust me, you will enjoy it in the end.

For all you who never saw Titan A.E, consider this an introduction. Titan A.E was an animated movie directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and if you recall older animated movies, you could recognize the familiar art style Don Bluth used. The movie itself mainly was about the destruction of Earth and a group trying to find a ship capable of creating planets before their enemies could. It was a good movie, but it didn't do well in sales and the lore wasn't as developed. You don't have to worry about that here though, as we are starting from square one and writing a new universe with that move as the core. And there will be other parts from other media as well, as you will all find out.

Now without further delay, it's time to get started with the second chapter. Enjoy.

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><p>"<strong>There was a time where we humans once feared aliens. We always believed they would come and…probe our minds or something! But the more stories we wrote about first contact, the more it seemed that we would be prepared for when it actually did happen. This may not be the type of first contact we were expecting, but it certainly would be the one that we would make without a single shot being fired."<strong>

**-North American Union President Kameron Eads, 2247**

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><p>Araime strolled through the grey corridors of the communications tower, letting his long legs carry him to the main communications room. He didn't like being called to the tower when it was still dark outside, not because of the dangers that lurked in the nearby forest, but because of how tired he was. They didn't say why he was needed, but they just urged it was important. He growled to himself; if it was important, it better be something worth waking him up for or else he will kick the idiot who called him.<p>

For many years, they were stuck on this planet. Orbiting the gas giant known as Ulix, Solbrecht had one single ocean with one landmass that had the same name as the planet it was on. The continent itself was mostly forests, abundant with fauna of both small and large. To the west lied the Tresta Desert, separated from the rest of the continent by the Derren Mountain Range. To the north was the Illith Tunda, which also served as the northern pole of Solbrecht.

It wasn't that much, but it was their home. The Mantrin race grew and evolved here, and today, they were who they were thanks to the nature of their world. A majority of the race lived in tribes, separated into different sub-races; despite some major differences they still had the same triple jointed legs, long tail, and fleshy beaks that all mantrins had. However, the Sogowans developed faster. Cities stood where tribes once were, and primitive tools soon were replaced by firearms. Despite this, they still had a desire to keep moving. A desire that now was turned to the stars above.

Teqa Station, the communications tower Araime was in, was one of many stations that not only focused on maintaining the communications satellites that hovered around Solbrecht's orbit, but also looked for any life that was out there. Even an idiot would agree that the galaxy had life in it, and for the Sogowans, they had to find it. As for actually exploring the void around them…that was for the people in charge of their space program to worry about.

Araime stopped when he saw another Sogowan come up to him. He was obviously younger than Ariame, and while Ariame had dark brown skin, he had light reddish brown skin with a tan underbelly, neck, and beak. The younger Sogowan was smiling enthusiastically, clearly excited over something they found.

"General Ariame, it's a pleasure you came." The younger Sogowan greeted. Ariame had to contain his annoyance as he realized this was the guy who woke him up. The urge to punch him in the beak was slowly rising, but he quickly silenced it. He was a general, after all.

"The pleasure is all mine," Araime nodded in respect, "And you are?"

The younger Sogowan blinked, "Right, my apologizes." His smile returned shortly, "Borral. I'm the one who is in charge of the team here at Teqa Station."

"I see. Well, it's good to meet you, Borral." Araime said. So this youngling was in charge of this station? So he was more than just an over eager Sogowan who scored a great job. "You told me you had an... important discovery?"

Borral nodded eagerly, "Yes sir. It's this way." Araime soon followed the younger Sogowan, who was a bit to eager going by how he was bouncing with each step. Whatever he found, it was big. And Araime hoped that it was something life changing. "Sir, what do you know about the Outworld Transmission?"

Araime sighed, "I know about the Outworld Transmission. I was still a general when we received it." He replied. It was 50 years ago when the Sogowans first deployed the first radio satellite into Solbrecht's orbit. Its purpose was simply to allow them to send calls from one part of the continent to the other, but when they tested it, they picked up a signal alright, but not one from the planet. It was mostly radio noise, but they could pick up some speech in it. Speech, that wasn't in any language they known.

"The Outworld Transmission was what drove the Sogowans to be interested in exploring the void," Borral explained, "We were all curious just who sent that transmission out, and why. All we needed though was a way to reply." He stopped walking and soon turned to face the general, "Sir, we think…they just visited us recently."

Araime's ears perked up as his normally stern expression turned into one of curiosity, "Visited?" He arched a brow, "Visited how?"

Borral took a deep breath in as he turned and started to lead the way once more, "A few hours ago, we picked up an unknown object approaching Solbrecht." He started, "At first we thought it was an asteroid or comet, but it was moving differently. It changed directions, stopped momentarily by one of our satellites, and after a while, soon left the system."

Araime now realized what Borral was implying, and why he was so eager. A discovery like this would finally prove that they weren't alone, and maybe would be enough to finally unite the other tribes. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized something. "They were scouting us."

Borral shrugged, "More likely. Whoever they were, clearly they were the same race that sent the Outworld Transmission." He said, "We believe they came from the next system over, where we think the transmission came from."

"Are you sure?" Araime asked.

Borral chuckled, "Sir, we had our relays pointed to the stars ever since we received the transmission. We also have satellites whose sole purpose is to scan the stars and take pictures. I am sure."

"And what makes you so sure?" Araime questioned. The evidence pointed to alien life, though he still had to question.

Borral smirked as they stopped at a door, "Because we accidentally took a picture of this object." He answered.

Araime blinked as Borral soon opened the door. Behind it was the main control center for the station; multiple consoles were lined up, with each row higher than the one before it. In front of the consoles was a large screen, and on that large screen was an image of the void. As he and Borral walked in, Araime noticed a distinct object on the screen.

"Well, there it is." Borral smiled once more as he and Araime were now looking at the screen in front of them. The object itself was not an asteroid or comet, but it was some curved object. Araime could clearly make out a ring around the object, a few curves, and what he thought were some engines. The image moved as the object slowed to a stop, stood there for a few minutes, and soon turned direction and just vanished.

"Well, that is interesting." Araime shrugged.

"Interesting? More like amazing!" Borral grinned, "The first real evidence we have of life outside our own system. And they visited us!" He chuckled, "This is the greatest discovery we found!"

Araime smiled, "I must say, I am impressed. So, do you have a name for this object?"

"We decided to call it the Outworld Traveller, named after the transmission." Borral replied.

"It fits." Araime nodded. As he looked at the screen, his mind started to wonder. Clearly this ship was scouting the planet, as it soon turned back around and left. That meant that it had to return to wherever it came from. Which brought up another question… "Do you think they will return?"

Borral blinked and rubbed his head, "Honestly…I am not sure. I hope they do though."

"And why is that?" Araime looked to him with an arched brow. Being a general, he was already thinking of the possibility of an invasion. Science fiction novels always explained that possibility… but clearly Borral was thinking of a more optimistic reason.

"Sir, if they are…peaceful…do you think they will help us?" Borral asked, "I mean, help us with understanding the void. Help us with our problems on Solbrecht. Help us…be like them."

Araime stood there for a moment. He didn't think about it that way. Having another race help them unite the other tribes and get them into space would be amazing. He doubted it would happen though…but still. One had to wonder. "I don't know…but if they do, we will be ready." He looked back to the screen, "We will always be ready."

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><p>"Are you certain?"<p>

Zavier closed his eyes and let out a deep breath before he opened them again "I am certain." He nodded. It was a day ago that he and his team made it to Alpha Centauri to search for new worlds. Instead they found an alien civilization still in the process of growing. The Enterprise observed this world for a few hours, recording information about this civilization. They plugged into one of the satellites, where Esther was able to download key information about this civilization's language and more via their internet. And while he was certain they were spotted, he knew it didn't matter. This would be a big even for both mankind, and this new civilization.

On the other end of the call was NASA administrator Merrill Daubney, a 60 year old man with short white hair and hazzle eyes. Soon after the Enterprise returned to Sol, they immediately contacted mission control. And that soon led to Zavier talking to the administrator. The older man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I guess the public would want to hear about this. First mission outside our system, and we discover an alien civilization." He muttered, "Zavier, you've done the research. What more can you tell me about these…mantrins?"

Zavier took another deep breath, "They are still a young civilization." He started, "If we were to compare their technology to our own, they would have the technology we had 200 years ago. Their first satellite was launched 50 years ago, and since then they sent out more satellites, both for radio, internet and for space discovery."

"What about their appearance?" Merrill asked, "Esther merely explained they were like…" He looked away from the Zavier, reading something on another screen, "…space kangaroos with beaks."

Zavier suppressed a smile. Leave it to Esther to try to make something simple. "That is what they look like." He said, "They apparently sport large legs that are like kangaroos. Though only difference is that whereas kangaroos have two joints in their legs, the mantrins have three."

"Triple jointed legs?" Merrill arched a brow, "Well, I can assume they would be great at jumping. And their kicks probably could shatter bone…or even remove a limb."

"Their long legs are what give them their crouching appearance." Zavier continued, "Though they don't bounce to move around. Rather, they seem to extend their legs whenever their running and simply stay crouched when walking."

"I can see why they need those tails." Merril said, "What about their beaks?"

"They aren't really beaks." Zavier said, "Well, not like birds. Their beaks are more bone and flesh than bone. They have teeth, which are used both for grinding and for tearing. They seem to be omnivores because of that."

"So their beaks are more like muzzles." Merril nodded, "Alright, I don't need anything else. I read the report Esther sent in, and it seems as though these mantrins are split. The main dominate group appears the Sogowans, who were the ones who are most technologically advanced. There also seems to be a power struggle amongst the mantrin tribes." He explained, "Not what we were expecting, but it will do."

"Sir?" Zavier asked, unsure what he meant by that last sentence.

Merril sighed, "People here as mission control are talking about the possibility of first contact. Some are saying that we should just observe them. Others are saying that we should pop in and say hi, show them who their next door neighbors are. Honestly, I myself am leaning more to the latter."

"You want mankind to make contact with these mantrins?" Zavier arched a brow.

"I don't know if it will be the best decision, but if we can make friends with aliens, we better do it now." Merril explained, "If we wait any longer, there might be a power shift within the mantrin culture. And if we wait, we would have an enemy than a friend. It's a risk, but it's a risk that would have more benefits if it works."

"I guess you want us to go back to Alpha Centauri then?" Zavier asked. They had the only ship capable of FTL travel. They have all files related to the mantrin race, and Esther still has the downloaded language files, which she could use to communicate with the mantrins. It only made sense that the Enterprise would be the one leading the way.

Merril chuckled, "You know the reason why. You made history by being the first humans to leave the Sol System, and now you will make even more history by being the first to make first contact. Peaceful first contact, if we are lucky."

"It's… a big deal." Zavier paused, "I am not sure if my crew is ready."

"No one is ready, Zavier. But someone has to take the first step." Merril said.

Zavier took a deep breath, "Well…" He then smiled, "…then we will be the first to take that step."

"That's the spirit." Merril smiled back, "Inform your crew, and when you are ready, head to Alpha Centauri. And let us pray to god that this works out."

"We won't let mankind down sir." Zavier nodded.

"I know you won't."

* * *

><p><strong>NEWTON GRAVITY GENERATOR<strong>

While the Prometheus Warp Drive is a staple piece of technology that jump started to urge to explore new worlds, it was the Newton Gravity Generator that helped in its creation. In 2076, many years after trial and error, scientist managed to find the elusive Higgs Boson particle. Upon its discovery, new doors in science and technology would open up. These technologies included nuclear fusion reactors, and eventually the Newton Gravity Generator.

Developed in 2112 and named after the person who discovered gravity, the Newton allowed human beings to create artificial gravity by using the Higgs field to alter the gravity in a given space. Its first public use was in creating the first anti-gravity vehicle, a flying car, in 2129. Although the flying car was at first used only by the higher class, it soon became more common for everyone to have one. Many years later, the gravity generator was used from scientific research, to medical treatment, and public usage.

After years of developing the gravity generator, it eventually became used in space shuttles that ferried civilizations from Earth to the other colonies in our system. Although there was still a joy about floating around weightless inside a ship or space station, it was long known that being weightless did harm to a human's body. The Newton simply fixed that problem, and opened up the door to living in space. Space stations soon were developed, and with it, mankind flocked to every corner of our system.

But with its usage, the Newton Gravity Generator played a key role in helping mankind control the dark energy that is used to propel a ship such as the Enterprise from one system to another. When many people think of the Prometheus Warp Drive, they would have to thank Newton for paving the way.


	3. Contact: Messages

"**I don't want to frighten you, but we have recently been visited. We have been visited by beings outside our world, outside our system. They came, observed us, and then left. We don't know if they are friendly or not, but it proves that, yes, there is other life out there, maybe even next door. I don't know, but I feel a new age is upon us. Not one of fear and isolation, but one of courage and exploration. We will meet them soon, now or later, and we will be ready, both for them, and the future that they bring."**

**-Sogowan Confederation President Vordeer, 2247**

It was the second time this week that the Enterprise arrived in Alpha Centauri, the second time that the crew saw the binary suns orbiting one another. Whereas the first time was for exploration, this time was different. It was not to test the waters, to explore new worlds and to see how far mankind can reach with their FTL drive. This time, they would be making contact with another civilization, and unlike all the scenarios that mankind thought of in the past, it would be mankind who would be the strange aliens that come in peace.

The mood onboard the vessel was mostly ominous. This mission could go in any direction. It could go peacefully, with the sogowans being curious about their neighbors and eventually wanting to be friends. Or it could go the opposite way, with the sogowans seeing mankind as an enemy for some reason. Zavier had no reason why they would though, but he had to keep his options open. His crew was the ambassadors for the entire human race, apparently.

Nthanda piloted the Enterprise close to one of the satellites they uplinked to the last time they were here. There was no need to be sneaky about this, and thankfully they already had a plan. The Enterprise was to connect to one of the satellites so Esther can interface with it. Once she did that, she would be able to make contact with the sogowan species. Zavier knew there was a language barrier, and knew that showing that they actually downloaded the language files would bring suspicion. Rather, they would send a message in the only universal language the galaxy would know: binary. Since the computers the sogowan had were similar to ancient computers that humanity once used, it should be simple.

"Alright, stopping at the satellite now." Nthanda announced, "Utility drone is deployed and is making the necessary connections now."

Outside the ship, a small disc-shaped robot unlatched itself from the Enterprise and made its way to the Solbrecht satellite. The drone was driven by Esther as she already was connected to the ship's interface, and once the drone found the right access port on the satellite, she would be able to connect to Solbrecht's network. It hovered around the satellite for a while until it would find the same access port they used before. Before long, two arms deployed from the drone and latched onto the satellite as a single cord soon connected the drone and the satellite.

"I'm in." Esther closed her eyes for a second as she allowed her mind to connect to the neuro net, which was connected to the Solbrecht network, "Huh…."

"Esther?" Zavier asked.

"It seems as though the sogowans have already figured out about our last visit," Esther explained as she looked through the data that flowed in front of her, "They recently had an announcement regarding our visit, and it seems as though they are keeping an eye on their orbit."

"So, they can see us?" Zavier inquired. If they knew about the Enterprise, it should make first contact easier. They just had to play their cards right.

"For the most part," Esther replied, "Their technology is close to what our technology was 200 years ago. Remember, their internet is new."

"So, we're the aliens to them?" Youta asked, "Kind of like those old sci-fi movies we had back in the 1980s."

"You can imagine their surprise to see that they are not alone." Esther smirked.

"That is a reversal to what we expected first contact to be like." Youta pointed out, "At least there are no freaky black aliens who burst out of your chest."

"Who says they don't exist…" Zavier muttered, "Alright, let's get started. Esther, I need to create that binary message."

"Already done sir," Esther replied. In her mind, she could see the binary numbers in front of her, converted into data. It was a simple thing. The Enterprise would be asking for a handshake in order to establish a secure connection between it and those who were watching them from Solbrecht. Once that was done, Esther would be able to send a message in binary, where she hoped the sogowans would be able to translate.

"Good." Zavier just had to smile. Well, time to make history, "Send it."

Borral rushed into the main control center with haste. He just was told that the Outworld Traveler returned to Solbrecht, and that was enough to get him to run all the way to the control center from his office. The young sogowan stumbled into the control center, out of breath. Upon seeing the chaos around him, he quickly composed himself and took control of the situation.

"What do we have so far?" He asked as he walked between the consoles.

"The Outworld Traveler stopped at COM-49 and established connection with it," A female sogowan mantrin replied as she looked over the data at her console. "Following that, we received a request from their computers to access our network."

"Like last time?" Borral looked to the main screen and saw that, like last time, the ship was connected to the satellite. He was both eager and worried, one for the possibilities of making friendly first contact and the other for a possible invasion.

"Last time, something penetrated the network and gathered information about us…" The sogowan replied.

"Yes, I know about that. They gathered information about our language and culture. I assumed they gathered this information to make first contact easier, or to exploit it." Borral breathed in, "Someone tell me they contacted the military?"

"General Araime is currently on his way." Another mantrin replied as he looked to Borral, "He should be here in 13 minutes."

"Good, good!" Borral grinned, "He should be here for this. After all, this is a big deal." He looked up to the main screen. He had to admit, the ship looked majestic in a way. It looked like it was made more for exploration than war. That possibility gave Borral new hopes for friendly first contact.

"Woah!" A young mantrin leaned back in surprise as he looked over his console, "Uh, we're getting something from COM-49." He announced.

Borral quickly made his way to mantrin's console and looked over his shoulder, "That… are they trying to establish communications?"

"I don't know." The mantrin replied, "Last time they just broke in and took what they wanted. Now, they want to talk it seems!"

Borral looked over the information that was on the console screen, "They needed information before they can make first contact." He realized, "What they did before was simply them trying to understand us…perhaps to make sure they can successfully talk to us." He rubbed the back of his head as he thought, "Now that they did that…."

His thoughts were broken as something soon appeared on the console. On screen was a series of numbers: 01010111 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110000 01100101 01100001 01100011 01100101. It looked nothing more than 0s and 1s, but Borral knew that those numbers was really a binary message. The mantrin with him quickly went to work, coming to the same conclusion as Borral. He ran it through, and after a few minutes, the message was translated to Sogowanian.

We come in peace.

Borral stared at the message in astonishment. Never in his life did he believe he would see that message in person, from an advance alien civilization. Clearly, they weren't here for hostilities. No…this message proved that, like the sogowans, this race simply wanted peace. This was a game changer….something that would change life on Solbrecht forever.

"Is Borral here?" Borral's ears twitched. Apparently General Araime finally arrived. The stern mantrin stood by the door eastern door in the control room as he looked around. The entire room was silent now.

Borral would make his way to the general, "Y-yes." He said.

"I heard that the Outworld Traveler returned…" Araime glanced to the screen, "It seems as though you were right…"

"They haven't just returned…" Borral grinned as he would quickly lead the general to where they translated that message, "They contacted us! They connected to COM-49 and sent this message. They want peace."

Araime looked at the message, reading it over many times. After a minute, he spoke, "So…it is true then?" He said, "They come in peace?"

Borral nodded, "Yes! Sure, they infiltrated our network and took information, but it was for a good reason! I mean, they needed information to talk to us and-"

"Wait, they broke into our network?" Araime arched a brow. That raised some alarm.

Borral let out a nervous chuckle, "Well, er, yes. Nothing important though, just language, culture, biology, that sort of thing."

"And you didn't tell me this last time…because?" Araime growled.

"We only figured it out just after you left!" Borral explained, "This race…they know how to hack into our network and leave without alerting anyone! We were lucky to have found evidence that they were in our network."

Araime glared at Borral. After a while, he sighed, "Right. I am sure people will panic upon hearing that. So, did you send a message back?"

Borral blinked, "Y-yes, of course!" He said as he looked to the mantrin that stationed by the console, "Send a response back to them."

The mantrin nodded and went to typing as Araime looked over his shoulder, "I hope you know what you're doing." He said to Borral.

Borral chuckled, "I hope I do too."

"I've received a message back." Esther announced.

"And?" Zavier asked Esther. He wanted to hear what the sogowans sent back, and judging by the looks on the rest of his crew, everyone else wanted to hear as well.

"They apparently sent an algorithm," She said, "It looks like they want to show that they are capable of understanding the fundamentals of science." She smiled, "Funny… that was what we were planning on doing if aliens contacted us."

"So they know math." Youta shrugged, "What about it?"

"Hey, knowing math is a key part of being a spare faring civilization." Nthanda replied, "My guess is they want to show us that they have a good grasp on the concept, and to see if we understand it as well."

"Indeed. So, they want peace as well?" Zavier leaned forward in anticipation.

"Yes, it seems like it." Esther answered, "The next step would be to make physical contact."

"And for that, they need to be able to send someone to meet us." Zavier surmised, "The Enterprise can't land, so they will have to send someone up here to meet with us."

"Shall I send a message to them explaining the situation?" Esther asked.

"Do it. Also, give them some information regarding us. Let them know who they are meeting with."

"Understood," Esther nodded before she dove back into the network. "Message sent."

"They want us to do what?"Araime asked. The second message they received was a short explanation on what their race was, as well as a request.

"They want us to send someone up to meet with them…" Borral said with excitement in his voice, "This is it! First contact. Friendly first contact! Between sogowan and…human." He rubbed his head, "That's how they pronounce it?"

"Whatever the case, I need to notify the president. Tell him that we have just made first contact, and what they want us to do." Araime explained, "I am sure people will be skeptical…."

Borral looked to Araime, "They will be skeptical, but this is a big moment." He said, "I don't even think they can hurt us…but…well, I guess we will see."

Araime made his way to the exit with Borral at his side, "Listen, I want you to keep monitoring that ship. If it does anything else, let me know." He said, "We will see if we can get a rocket up there to meet with them, but I will send word to prepare the military just in case anything goes wrong. Got it?"

Borral blinked, "Y-yes."

"Good." Araime opened the door and walked out, but soon stopped and looked back to Borral, "Keep talking with them. Learn more about them. The more we know, the better."

Borral nodded, "Of course." He said before Araime left. He took a deep breath before he looked back to the rest of his team, "Don't just stand there! We got work to do!" He grinned, "Come on, come on!"

**NEURO INTERFACE**

In the 21st century, mankind was used to having technology with them at all times. With the creation of smart phones that were capable of accessing the internet from anywhere in the world, everyone could access information whenever they pleased. Despite the convenience of having this piece of technology, people wanted the smart phone to be smaller to the point where they aren't carried, but rather are a part of the person.

The neuro interface was the answer to this need. Created in 2039, the neuro interface is an augmentation that most human beings would have by 2247. The augmentation allowed a person to uplink to the internet at all times, giving them the ability to control technology and gather information using their thoughts. At first, the neuro interface was a chip that would be surgically implanted into a person's brain, but as technology rose, this method became obsolete with the rise of nanotechnology. With nanotechnology, one could easily get a neuro interface through a simple injection.

The neuro interface did receive negative feedback when it was first revealed. While people flocked to acquire the neuro interface, some groups shunned this new piece of technology, fearing that it would do more harm than good. These groups had many reasons for not trusting the neuro interface, whether it is the fear that someone could use it against humanity, or simply that it goes against their belief. As predicted, some of these groups would attack those who they think had a neuro interface, and in 2043, the Transhuman Act was passed by the United States to protect people who augmented themselves.

This animosity still exists today. Small groups, such as Terra Firma, continue to protest against the usage of augmentations, among other things. Other groups though have been known to take more drastic actions, attacking unguarded augmentation centers to make their point known. Still, people continue to augment themselves to have better health, and the neuro interface is a must have for anyone.


End file.
